When the magnificent Martini Cherry Furter opens the door to the main stage of Ballhaus Naunynstraße to welcome you in, you know you’re in for a treat. What awaits you inside is a feast for the eye thought up by dancer and choreographer Jao Moon and his team. “Everybody Can Be Everybody Can Not Be” is the fourth work of the young performer, but his debut as a choreographer of an ensemble.
Following the strong aesthetics of his previous solo piece Memory of Dislocation, Jao is once again presenting a piece that is visually stunning – not only because of the beautiful stage design by Michi Muchina with light by Emilio Cordero Checa, or the costumes by Billi Lobos, but also because of the unique and talented cast, including the aforementioned Martini, as well as Amada Tinoco, Natasha Vergilio, Francisco Bejarano Montes de Oca and, of course, Jao himself.
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by Frank | Theater
Now it’s finally here: the new creative leadership of Berlin choreographer Sasha Waltz at the Staatsballett – anticipated by some and criticized by others. And the season premiere of Plateau Effect by Jefta van Dinther could not have been a more daring choice for the first piece of this new era.
The Swedish choreographer van Dinther is well known in the contemporary dance scene and has been often invited to Tanz im August and to HAU theater. His pieces are known for an emotional radicalness and for not caring about the needs and expectations of the audience. Even if his work is acclaimed by critics and the dance and art world, it is not something you would take your granny or even your parents to watch. Many of his pieces are raw, sexual, rough and often accompanied by a soundtrack you would rather hear at Berghain than in an opera house.
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by Claudio | Theater
Poland is only a two hours bus or train ride away. Still, the situation for LGBTQI* people could not be more different than in Berlin. The politics of the strictly catholic neighbor country is still holding on moral concepts of the 40s. Assaults and police brutality against members of the Rainbow spectrum became more in the last years. These are issues that queer activist from all over the world are becoming aware of and want to tackle on.
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by Claudio | Events, Stories
photo: Rafael Medina.
In its third year, WHOLE, the flamboyant spectacle off Berlin’s shores has become a unique space of queer expression and community with—beyond any doubt—historic significance. iHeartBerlin writer Andy attended the three-day “Function in Ferropolis”.
I breathe in deep. The air is dusty and dry from these first scorching hot summer days. Waiting for my group of friends to check-in, I put my heavy backpack down and let my eyes wander around. Colossal metal cranes stand against the bright blue sky, brutal remnants of times past. In front, a makeshift village of scattered tents on arid soil—a scenery right out of “Mad Max”. I turn my head, a group of half-naked bodies dances my way; a neon-green mohawk on one side, floor-long leather chaps on the other, and giant hoop earrings bouncing up and down. “YES BITCH!,” I call out quite suddenly and flick my finger. A fan SNAPS, a kiss on my cheek, and the extravagant ensemble whirls past. I start laughing.
Bye-bye reality. I’m home.
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by Andy | Music, Party
Especially during Pride, it’s important that we take the time to appreciate great initiatives that contribute to empowering Berlin’s queer community. In this article, you’ll find a list of 7 such projects. We’re featuring diverse projects, including festivals, online platforms, and even an app – read on to find out all about them.
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by Michalina | People, Stories
This week is Pride Week in Berlin which means there is a whole string of fabulous queer events happening. In fact, there are so many events and parties that it might be hard to figure out which ones to go to. But don’t worry, we got you covered. We selected the highlights that you can trust will extra cool!
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by Frank | Events, Party
photos: Dieter Hartwig.
When does a dance start and when does it end? What movement is beautiful and what would you describe as disturbing? How can the body language translate into a narrative and what will the audience read in it
These are some of the questions posed by the dance piece Glory by Jeremy Wade. This piece had its premiere 12 years ago at the Tanztage festival and is coming back to Sophiensaele this weekend. The powerful duett by Jeremy Wade himself and Sindri Runudde will show you some aspects of dance you might never have seen before.
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by Claudio | Theater
photos: Vismante Ruzgaite.
We got a chance to meet Jessie Keane who makes ceramic fine arts – for your kitchen, plants and… private parts.
Jessie is laying on the floor of our photo studio. Coming in for a normal interview, spotlights and cameras were probably not what the 27-year-old expected from this otherwise ordinary Thursday night. But we couldn’t resist photographing the charming artist with her kinky creations.
“Oh god, I’m dressed way too casually for this,” she replies when we ask her to step into the spotlight. Keeping things casual, yet a little unusual is exactly what we were looking for. In the end, Jessie is not selling your usual ceramics.
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by Andy | Design, Products
The Berlin-based all-black-everything design collective number one takes on the city in their new photo series.
Staying true to their drapey and genderfluid aesthetic the Neukölln collective UY sends an array of diverse personalities from the studio into the urban jungle, creating visual disruptions and unexpected synergies in front of the lens.
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by Andy | Fashion
Berlin’s queer nightlife joins forces once again. The electronic music festival fighting for a space for inclusivity and self-expression for the WHOLE queer spectrum returns for its third edition this June bringing you a killer lineup of local and international artists and party crews to kick off your festival season with a BANG.
The festival’s third year is still a first-time in many ways, not only for the individual festival-goers and organizers but for the global queer electronic underground. More international acts and crews than ever join forces for the three-day gathering to electronic beats. 27 queer nightlife collectives from 12 different countries come together for the function in Ferropolis (“the city of steel”), a former coal mining site turned breathtaking festival location, just two hours out of Berlin. The stunning area – imagine gigantic metal cranes growing into the sky like it’s a dystopian fiction flic – is also home to strongholds of the festival summer circuit such as MELT and SPLASH Festival. Read on…
by Andy | Music, Party
